Archbishop Antony leads delegation in a visit to the orphanage at Zaluchia (12/08/02)

Archbishop Antony leads delegation in a visit to the orphanage at Zaluchia

ZALUCHIA, Ukraine - A a delegation of some 40 Orthodox faithful from across the United States and Europe traveled on October 23 to the remote village of Zaluchia, Sniatyn District of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, to visit a notorious orphanage housing 118 children with severe birth defects. Under the leadership of Archbishop Antony, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. has become the leading sponsor of an intensive campaign launched by the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund to overhaul the orphanage and to ensure that the orphans receive more humane treatment.

Archbishop Antony and the 40 pilgrims joined representatives of CCRF in an emotionally wrenching and, at times, heart-warming encounter with the orphans. As the large Lviv Intourist bus wended its way along the narrow muddy roads leading to the orphanage, a huge rainbow appeared in the sky and hovered over the orphanage. Several visitors expressed hope that this was an omen portending a brighter future for the children.

The U.S. delegation was greeted warmly by the staff and new director of the children's home, Vasyl Oleksienko. (Two previous directors had been expelled after CCRF helped expose the deplorable conditions in which the children lived.) The archbishop told Mr. Oleksienko that he had come to meet with every child and to personally review the repairs and improvements that were under way. Mr. Oleksienko assured the archbishop that their visit was a momentous day for the children and that his staff was grateful for the attention that the delegation had brought to his facility.

CCRF co-founder Nadia Matkiwsky, Executive Director Alexander Kuzma and Olena Maslyukivska, the fund's Kyiv director, separated the delegation into smaller groups and escorted each through the dormitories and playrooms. Over the past year CCRF has installed a new roof, new floors and walls in several common areas. During recent airlifts the fund also delivered padded wheelchairs, clothing, new mattresses and linens, quilts, specially designed cloth diapers, disinfectants and wall decorations.

CCRF also bought livestock for meat and installed new laundry equipment to help the staff handle the enormous load of clothing that must be washed and disinfected each day. Despite this infusion of aid, the orphanage still requires a great deal of work and material to improve the standard of living and hygiene.

After meeting the children, members of the delegation began to brainstorm, a wide range of ideas for making the premises more livable. Improved lighting, wheelchair ramps and cleaning agents were among the needs discussed, and several parishioners pledged to start fund-raising campaigns in their churches to support the archbishop's and CCRF's initiative.

The Office of Youth Ministries for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is planning to send a brigade of volunteers for a two-week internship at Zaluchia in the summer of 2003 to bolster CCRF's campaign and to provide the children with physical therapy and individualized attention.

The Sniatyn District is the poorest enclave in what may be one of the poorest provinces in Ukraine. The local government has imposed many budget cuts that have strained the orphanage's resources and further weakened children's social services. Even so, CCRF and Orthodox activists are determined to pressure government authorities and business leaders to take greater responsibility for the plight of the orphans. A group of German benefactors has begun to install new pipes and wash basins in the bedrooms for the incontinent and paraplegic orphans. CCRF is seeking additional sponsors to radically upgrade the facility.

"The significance of the archbishop's personal visit was not lost on the powers that be," said CCRF's Mr. Kuzma. "We've seen in other communities how Ukrainian institutions and generous individuals have begun to overcome their complacency and to have a real impact on medical programs for children. We are here to remind local authorities and people of good conscience everywhere that these children must not and will not be forgotten."

In the Ukrainian diaspora, the deplorable conditions at the Zaluchia orphanage were first exposed in a photo exhibit by CCRF intern Joseph Sywenkyj, now a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City. The photos sparked an intensive campaign launched by CCRF to radically improve conditions at the orphanage.

CCRF has also adopted a similar orphanage for handicapped children in the village of Znamianka, in the Kirovohrad Oblast in central Ukraine. Regional government health authorities recently honored this orphanage for instituting the greatest improvements in the standard of care, due in large measure to the support of CCRF.

As he visited the orphans in Zaluchia, many of them bed-ridden and genetically disfigured, Archbishop Antony blessed and caressed the face of every child. Other pilgrims distributed toys and candies, and left behind boxes of gifts donated from their churches.

From Zaluchia, the pilgrimage continued to the monastery/shrine of Pochaiv and other Christian holy sites. But for the visitors from Maryland, Michigan, New England, New Jersey and other states, the memories of Zaluchia have sparked a new commitment to bring hope and meaningful assistance to the deprived children that the world had once forsaken.

For more information call CCRF at (973) 376-5140, or contact the Office of Youth Ministries at (412) 488-9664. Tax-deductible donations earmarked for the Zaluchia Orphanage may be forwarded to CCRF at 272 Old Short Hills Road, Short Hills, NJ 07078.

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